I thought it was over $100k as well but didn't catch the end, even though I was in contact with the seller during the auction. I wish they showed photos of it before Don Bies got his hands on it....it is such a shame they chose to refurbish it.
Quotes from my emails with the seller:
Quote:
Sorry, some of the info I gave you this a.m. was incorrect. The helmet is
actually bolted on to the mask at the crown, which apparently was done by
Bies to prevent people from removing the helmet and casting knock-offs from
it, so we understand. The back of the mask has some black velvet backing
loosely draped from it, certainly placed there by Bies for presentation purposes.
And...
Quote:
Yes, the helmet is permanently affixed, judging by the accompanying letter
from Bies which states "do NOT attempt to remove the helmet from the
faceshield" (or words to that effect). There is no Velcro on the piece,
although I'm sure there was some on the upper edge before it was restored
and made ready for auction in 1992. Bies completely repainted the piece
and made the custom display on which it is now placed. Presentation, rather
than original studio-used condition, was the overriding factor in his
restoration.
By the way, the piece comes with the original wooden crate as delivered
from Lucasfilm, with the Lucasfilm return label on the outside.
FYI they spelled Brian's name wrong and also got wrong the amount of time he spent sculpting the helmet....
